THE FUTURE OF LATIN FINANCE

Sep 1, 2013

Political, financial and corporate leaders set out an agenda for Latin America’s future as the region confronts a turning economic cycle

Latin America’s transformation over the past
quarter century has been extraordinary. Today, the region lays
claim to strong, vibrant democracies, well-managed economies,
deeper capital markets and a more equitable distribution of
wealth.

Yet for all its progress Latin America has advanced little
compared to the rest of the world. For example, its share of
global GDP, at just 8.3%, has barely advanced since 1950. For
the region’s economies to converge with emerging
Asia, let along developed markets, there is much to be
done.

Over the coming pages, leaders from Latin America and beyond
reflect on the challenges and how to tackle them, as well as
what lessons should be drawn from the past quarter century.

In Governance & Reform, political leaders past and
present, including Mexico’s president
Enrique Peña Nieto and Brazil’s former
president
F. H. Cardoso, advance the case for a new economic agenda
for Latin America.

Bankers and regulators, including former Citigroup vice
chairman
William Rhodes and Mexican central bank governor
Agustín Carstens, consider how to bolster the
financial system in Stability & Regulation. The heads of
some of the region’s biggest banks and companies,
assess the environment for firms operating in the region, while
investors take stock of how far markets have advanced in
Corporates & Capital.

And in Growth & Development, former Chilean president
Ricardo Lagos and IDB president Luis Alberto Moreno, among
others, examine challenges of prosperity.

Governance & ReformPolitical figures past and present weigh the case
for a new economic agenda for Latin America

Enrique Peña Nieto — Writing exclusively
for LatinFinance, Mexico's presdient sets out his
agenda for reform, which he says will transform the economy by
boosting productivity

Fernando Henrique Cardoso — Brazil must not lose
sight of the fundamental weaknesses in its economy, its former
president warns

Álvaro Uribe — Colombia's former president
says the government's peace talks with insurgents have come at
the expense of both security and investment

Henrique Capriles — Venezuela must find a better
way for economics and politics to work togheter, the country's
opposition leader says.

Nicholas Brady — The relationship between the US
and Latin America will once again take center stage for
the region as the global economy turns, the former US Treasury
Secretary says

Stability & RegulationBankers and regulators reflect on the readiness
of Latin America’s financial system to face future
shocks

Agustín Carstens — The global financial crisis
served as a reminder that sound economic fundamentals are
always the best defense of any economy, Mexico’s
central bank governor argues